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A new 30,375-square-foot storage warehouse at the Mallard-Fox Creek Port facility in Decatur, Ala., is expected to increase the use of the port and ease truck traffic on area highways, officials said.
A 24,000-square-foot warehouse was built during the port’s original development in the early 1990s, and additional inside storage space is required to support the port’s growth, said Jeremy Nails, executive director of the Decatur-Morgan County Port Authority.
Nails, who also heads the county’s Economic Development Association, said the new warehouse will increase tonnage shipped into and out of the Mallard-Fox Creek Industrial Park and Port Facilities by an estimated 10,000 tons per year.
The average annual tonnage is 150,000 tons, according to Nails.
“In ongoing evaluations with our port operator, Watco, it was determined that the port was missing many opportunities for additional shipping tonnage for commodities that require inside storage facilities,” Nails said.
Industrial growth in north Alabama has increased demand for inland ports.
“We have had some interest from Mazda Toyota suppliers and continue to look for opportunities to serve that market since we are the closest public river-port terminal to their site,” Nails said.
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA is building a $1.6 billion vehicle assembly plant in the Greenbrier area, with production set to start in 2021. Several suppliers are in the process of building on-site and off-site facilities.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to expand and help our tenants expand their business,” said Harvey Pride Jr., president of the Port Authority board.
The facility will also help reduce truck traffic on area roadways, Pride said.
Nails said, “We are working with our engineers this week to develop a timeline for completing the engineering designs, and start the bid process” for the warehouse. “We hope to bid out the project no later than May.”
He said the warehouse will be built at the Mallard-Fox Creek Port on available property adjacent to the dock and existing warehouse.
The $888,090 competitive grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs for the warehouse is funded from the state’s new Alabama Inland Port Infrastructure Program.
Applicants are required to provide at least a 20% match, and projects must be completed within two years of the grant award.
The total expected construction cost estimate is about $1.11 million, according to Nails.
“The Port Authority is responsible for the match and will work with our port operator Watco to develop this new facility into their existing lease agreement,” Nails said.
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